Rough rough draft - how to listen to music

How to listen to music

I do not hate pop music by nature. I really don’t. Especially not 20^th century pop. You might have assumed that I carry an arrogant adversity to mainstream music due to my distaste with many modern pop artists. To clarify- I find major faults with most of the current top 40 stuff, and that is after I have listened to it as free of pre judgment as I can manage, and analyzed it objectively.

Please don’t interpret this as me preaching to you, if you feel different that is absolutely okay with me, and I have no desire to try to change anyone’s musical tastes. Music is as personal as it gets, and you shouldn’t have to explain yourself. Here are things I have found that I don’t like.

·         The pop face, without the talent. It bothers me that the media is so easily distracted by a shiny new star that image is really the only road to fame. The record companies have even begun to look for new stars with the most important aspect being appearance, and talent being a bonus. This means that attractive and flashy teens with little or no real skills are hot on the music market. These people are not keepin’ it real.

·         As a side effect of the obsessively beautiful and superficial pop figurehead, lyrics aren’t as clever, beats aren’t as fresh, and voices are caked with auto-tune. This of course is a generalization, and does not apply to all contemporary pop artists. But you can tell that many modern artists didn’t right even write the lyrics, and sure as hell didn’t write or produce the melody. These are record companies who buy pretty faces.  Let me provide some examples.

-Will.i.am said “I wanna scream and shout and let it all out
We sayin “oo wee ooo wee oo”

There is nothing clever or impressive about this song as a whole, but it’s a party ballad with auto-tune and thumping bass, so people jump to it. These people really know how to target an audience. And I’m not suggesting there is anything wrong with you if you are a member of that audience, but make sure its because you appreciate the music, the sound; not the glamour or the mass appeal.

Now, I understand that this song is really about the beat and the 808, just something for drunk people to dance to. But it just cannot compare to old school hip-hop. Good beats, clever rhymes, easy to dance to. No problem.

·         The subject is so monotonous. There are 3 things almost every single top 40 song is about; sex, money or partying (which usually involves both) “Cause your sex takes me to paradise” Or songs like “Don’t stop the party” by Pitbull, which incorporates all 3!

My purpose here was surprisingly not to rant. But I had to get that off my chest. And I am NOT a hipster, in fact. I do not choose music based on obscurity.

Here’s what my point is. Good music should make you feel something without you having to be drunk or high. These altered consciousness conditions may cause you to be overly impressed by otherwise unimpressive things, especially weak bass lines. Music should not necessarily make you feel happiness. But something. If it does, then the composer was successful. Whatever that music is for you; k-pop, metal, ambient, alternative (whatever that means), you should know as soon as you hear it if you like the way it makes you feel. Are you bored? Are you anxious? Are you scared? Listen by yourself, and rid yourself of any hesitance. Acknowledge the sound, and assess its effectiveness. Don’t think about it too hard though, this should be natural. Feel the bass in your stomach, the snare in your neck and the treble in your temples. Do you like it?